Articles: personal-protective-equipment.
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Over one million cases of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been confirmed worldwide, with the death toll exceeding 50,000 people. An important issue to be addressed concerns the exposure of health professionals to this new virus. ⋯ However, there is no specific guidance on how to proceed in cases of need for chest tubes in patients with positive COVID-19 active air leak. The objective of this work is to assist surgeons of the most diverse specialties during the chest drainage of a patient with COVID-19 and to avoid a risk of contamination to the professional and the environment.
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Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992) · Jan 2020
ReviewChest tubes in COVID-19 times: a safe way to protect the team.
What has been published so far regarding safe methods to deal with chest tube insertion during COVID-19. ⋯ Health officials are under increasing pressure to control the spread of COVID-19, which is a very virulent disease. Our analysis brought together old rules against contamination along with new tactics for professionals who deal with chest drains in order to minimize the contamination of teams during the Pandemic.
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This document aims to provide evidence-based recommendations to estimate the personal protective equipments (PPE), medical devices, and drugs commonly used in the Intensive Care Unit during the COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic literature review and gray literature assessment was performed, and the evidence was categorized using the GRADE methodology. Then a predictive model was built to support the estimation of resources needed during 30 days of the pandemic. ⋯ It is important to remark the difficult in estimating and managing the number of essential supplies and equipment required during a pandemic. The model allowed us to predict the resources required to provide critical care during 30 days of pandemic activity. Given the constant evolution of COVID-19, these recommendations might change as evidence evolves.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented strain on healthcare supplies. Currently there is a global shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), especially N95 masks. In order to safeguard healthcare personnel in this critical time and to mitigate shortages of N95 respirators, reuse of N95 respirators has to be considered. ⋯ In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, reuse of N95 respirators, although suboptimal, can be considered. Evidence reveals that UVGI, MHI, and HPV are amongst the safest and efficacious methods for decontamination of N95 masks. More research is needed to establish the safety and effectiveness of MGS, MSB, dry heat, EtO, liquid hydrogen peroxide, and HPGP. Alcohol, microwave irradiation, and bleach are not recommended because they damage N95 respirators.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2019
Personal protective equipment for preventing highly infectious diseases due to exposure to contaminated body fluids in healthcare staff.
In epidemics of highly infectious diseases, such as Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), healthcare workers (HCW) are at much greater risk of infection than the general population, due to their contact with patients' contaminated body fluids. Contact precautions by means of personal protective equipment (PPE) can reduce the risk. It is unclear which type of PPE protects best, what is the best way to remove PPE, and how to make sure HCW use PPE as instructed. ⋯ We found very low quality evidence that more breathable types of PPE may not lead to more contamination, but may have greater user satisfaction. Alterations to PPE, such as tabs to grab may decrease contamination. Double gloving, following CDC doffing guidance, and spoken instructions during doffing may reduce contamination and increase compliance. Face-to-face training in PPE use may reduce errors more than video or folder based training. Because data come from single small studies with high risk of bias, we are uncertain about the estimates of effects.We still need randomised controlled trials to find out which training works best in the long term. We need better simulation studies conducted with several dozen participants to find out which PPE protects best, and what is the safest way to remove PPE. Consensus on the best way to conduct simulation of exposure and assessment of outcome is urgently needed. HCW exposed to highly infectious diseases should have their use of PPE registered and should be prospectively followed for their risk of infection in the field.